Freshman legislators to represent Inland Valley, High Desert in Congress

The Inland Empire and High Desert will have new representatives in Congress next week after Democrat Gloria Negrete-McLeod and Republican Paul Cook take the oath of office.

Negrete-McLeod, Cook and other freshman legislators may find themselves joining a Congress that has already tumbled over the "fiscal cliff" before they even get a chance to set up their new offices.

"They might have us in a lockdown session where we try to put together what wasn't done in December," Cook said in a telephone interview.

In the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., shooting, Congress is also expected to take up a new debate over gun control in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, freshman House members will also need to learn their way around Capitol Hill and acquaint themselves with their new committees.

Negrete-McLeod, whose 35th District includes the Pomona, Chino Valley, Ontario and Fontana areas, has been assigned to the Agriculture Committee.

Negrete-McLeod said she plans to assess the "lay of the land" before introducing any bills.

Cook represents the 8th Congressional District, which includes the Highland and Yucaipa areas as well as San Bernardino County mountain and desert communities and Inyo and Mono counties.

He has been assigned to the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Veterans' affairs committees, He said he is considering bills related to veterans' services and issues like post-traumatic stress disorder.

McLeod ousted Rep. Joe Baca, a fellow Democrat, from Congress in the November election. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Independence USA PAC spent more than $5 million supporting McLeod's candidacy.

Bloomberg is a gun control supporter and Independence USA's campaign in the Inland Empire attacked Baca for his pro-gun ownership positions.

McLeod said she has never made any promises to Bloomberg to support stricter gun laws.

"I do not know Mayor Bloomberg," she said. "I've never talked with him. I've never met him."

McLeod said she believes the Second Amendment gives Americans the right to own hunting rifles and handguns to protect their homes.

McLeod also supports banning assault weapons and requiring gun owners to be trained and licensed.

"If you have two or three guns in your house, I think you're OK. If you have 50 or 60, I think you're way over," she said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has promised to introduce a gun control bill that would ban more than 100 specific firearms in the wake of the Newtown mass shooting this month.

Cook said he will wait for Feinstein's bill to be introduced before he comments upon it.

Time is running out for the Democrats who control the Senate and the Republicans who control the House to agree to a deficit-reduction compromise before tax hikes and sweeping spending cuts go into effect with the new year.

The only part of the fiscal cliff debate that seems to generate any consensus is that it will be a bad idea for Congress to allow the currently scheduled tax hikes and spending cuts to go forward as planned.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has predicted a new recession if current fiscal policies are allowed to remain on the books.